Kim Seong-hoon, former head of the Presidential Security Service, finishes 17-hour special investigation over charges of hindering arrest of former President Yoon Seok-youl
Kim Seong-hoon, former deputy head of the Presidential Security Service, responded to a summons from the special investigation team for insurrection (led by Special Prosecutor Jo Eun-seok) and underwent a lengthy investigation lasting approximately 17 hours before returning home.
Kim is currently under investigation for charges including hindering the arrest of former President Yoon Seok-youl.
According to legal circles on the 4th, Kim arrived at the investigation room of the insurrection special investigation team set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office around 9:25 AM the previous day.
The investigation continued until 1:30 AM on the 4th, and it was confirmed that Kim returned home around 2:20 AM after completing the document review process.
When he arrived at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, reporters bombarded him with questions such as, "Did you come to receive an investigation regarding the secret phone?", "Is this investigation related to hindering the arrest?", "Is this related to the State Council meeting?", "Are you in the status of a suspect or a witness?", and "Did you receive orders from former President Yoon Seok-youl regarding hindering the arrest?", but Kim did not provide any responses and headed toward the investigation room.
Kim is accused of mobilizing Security Service personnel in January to interfere with the execution of an arrest warrant for former President Yoon by the police and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.
Additionally, he is also accused of instructing his staff to delete the secret phone call records of former Counterintelligence Command Chief Yeo In-hyung, former National Intelligence Service First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won, and former Seoul Police Chief Kim Bong-sik at the direction of former President Yoon immediately after the declaration of a state of emergency on December 3.
Special investigation team probes key figures ahead of summoning former President Yoon Seok-youl
However, Kim has consistently maintained that the then-responsible individual was Park Jong-jun, the former head of the Security Service, and he has claimed he was not involved. It remains unverified whether he maintained this stance during the current investigation.
The investigation of Kim by the insurrection special investigation team took place just two days before the summoning investigation of former President Yoon (on the 5th), leading to analysis that it is a step to strengthen charges against Yoon.
The special investigation team is believed to have focused on clarifying the relationship with former President Yoon based on Kim's statements.
Before the case was transferred to the insurrection special investigation team, the police special investigation team that was investigating Kim had expanded its probe, suspecting former President Yoon as a “co-conspirator” in relation to the hindering of the arrest and the deletion of the secret phone records.
The special investigation team is reported to be concentrating on clarifying the directive relationship between former President Yoon and Kim.
Image source: Kim Seong-hoon, former head of the Presidential Security Service / News1, News1
